Birth Defects Attorneys: Oral Clefts Cause Speech and Hearing Issues

Young children who are born with a cleft lip or cleft palate may experience speech and hearing problems as they grow older. Birth defects attorneys believe that speech-language pathology can often times be very beneficial to children with speech issues associated with these birth defects. Children who receive speech assistance at a young age are often times less likely to develop certain speech compensatory error patterns later in development. In dealing with a child’s hearing, a tympanostomy tube is often put into the eardrum in order to aerate the middle ear which should allow the child to improve hearing.

Problems with Speech in Children with Birth Defects

There are different reasons that children with certain birth defects may begin to develop speech problems. Professionals say that some of these problems are a direct result of the anatomical differences that are seen in people with cleft lip or cleft palate. On the other hand, attorneys say that it is also possible for children with birth defects to develop speech problems in different ways.

In some instances, speech errors develop because children with these craniofacial birth defects try to over compensate for their inability to produce the target phoneme. Although speech problems may develop from a variety of causes, it is essential that children receive treatment early and often from medical professionals to ensure that speech problems do not linger on any longer than necessary

Birth Defects Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia

Many parents who have children born with a cleft lip or cleft palate are often overwhelmed and, in some instances, confused about their legal rights. They are especially confused about whether or not the services of an attorney would be needed. In some cases, there have been improper actions that may have led to your child’s birth defect and contacting our professionals is beneficial to your family’s physical and financial health. Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.